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A west London woman who travelled to Thailand to “find herself” has instead found an equally legitimate form of validation in an unregulated tattoo parlour.

Lilly Webster, 22, who graduated last year from the University of Exeter with a degree in English Literature, met up with friends on the South Bank to discuss her travels at length and also reveal her new look.

Lilly opted to take a post-uni gap year after deciding not to be accepted on to any of the graduate schemes she had applied for. “I think it’s something everyone should do. I have no idea why my poorer friends whose parents can’t fund their long-haul flights and living costs are so obsessed with getting straight into the rat race,” she said, sipping her second mason jar cocktail.

Despite failing her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award, Lilly was convinced that spending time in a heavily westernised Thai tourist destination would help her “discover who she really is”.

“What I realised more than anything was that all these ideas we have about image and what’s acceptable societally don’t mean anything. You just have to be your truest self and let the ink on your skin tell your story,” she explained, referring to the large tattoo of Bart Simpson pulling a moony on her left forearm.

“We all have different routes to this realisation, and mine was drinking four fishbowls of Woo Woo on an empty stomach.”

“I found myself. Now I just need to find a doctor for a hepatitis B test and a T-shirt that covers it for whenever I see my parents. You just don’t get real life like this inside of zone 6!”

Laurie Plowright is a comedian and veterinary student. She is not only
self-absorbed and narcissistic, but also wonderful.
When she's not neglecting her collection of succulent plants, Laurie improvises with the Cambridge Impronauts, and is the co-founder of Stockings, an inclusive, all-female comedy troupe.